9 Hit Songs You Had No Idea Were Written By Carole King

Carole King, right,
performing at this month's Tony Awards with Jessie Mueller, who
won Best Actress for portraying the musician.Theo Wargo/Getty Images

The Broadway musical "Beautiful"— the true story of Carole
King's remarkable rise from behind-the-scenes
songwriter to solo stardom — took home three Tony Awards in June, including
Best Actress for Jessie Mueller's portrayal of
King.

"Tapestry" launched Carole
King's solo career in 1971, becoming one of the best-selling
albums of all time.Carol
King/"Tapestry"

But what many don't realize about King's career is that the
musician began songwriting for other artists in the 1960s, over a
decade before she became a famous artist in her own right. King
and herthen
husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote more than two dozen hits for top
artists of the time, including Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, and
the Beatles.

It wasn't until divorce and a cross-country move to Los Angeles
that King released her
first successful solo album, "Tapestry," which included hit songslike"I
Feel the Earth Move,""You've Got A Friend," and "It's Too
Late." In 1971, "Tapestry," produced by Lou Adler, hit No. 1
on the charts and won a Grammy in 1972 for Album of the
Year.

But before "Tapestry" sold over 25 million copies
worldwide and became one of the best-selling albums of all time,
King and Goffin were a hit-making duo in the shadows of the
spotlight.

Here are nine of the
collaborating couple's top hits sung by other
artists:

In 1971, King released her first successful solo album,
"Tapestry," which included her own version of this song that she
wrote for Aretha Franklin. The album went on to receive the
first-ever diamond certification after selling more than 10
million copies.

The song was written for Little Eva, but the
Chiffons brought it to No. 5 on
the Billboard Hot 100.

4. “Up On the Roof” by the
Drifters — 1963

The 1980 Rolling Stone "Illustrated History of Rock &
Roll" described "Up on the Roof" as "in every way a
remarkable pop song for 1962." The music magazine called the
lyrics "first-rate, sophisticated writing."

5. “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” by the Shirelles
— 1960

It became the first song by an all-girl group to reach No. 1
in the U.S.

6. “Take Good Care Of My Baby” by Bobby
Vee — 1961

The song reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot
100 in September of 1961.

7. “Chains” by the
Beatles — 1963

The song was originally recorded (but not released) by the Everly
Brothers.

8. "Crying In The Rain" by Everly
Brothers — 1962

The song was written by Carole King
andHoward Greenfield, a coworker
of King and Goffin at Aldon Music.
The singlepeaked at No. 6 on the U.S. pop charts in
1962.

9. James Taylor,
“You’ve Got a Friend” — 1971

Taylor recorded the song for his "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue
Horizon" album the same year King recorded it on
"Tapestry." It was
Taylor's first and only No. 1 Billboard
hit.

King has said that "the song was as
close to pure inspiration as I've ever experienced. The song
wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through
me."

But both artists won with the
song — Taylor took home a Grammy Award for Best Male
Pop Vocal Performance, while King
won Song of
the Year.

To see more songs Carole King and Gerry Goffin wrote for
other artists, click here >